UZUd       DEFENCE  OF  FORT    GREGG.  OFFICIAL  REPORT 

by 
Genl. J as. H.Lane 


in 
Southern  His t.Soc. Papers, January ,18 7 7 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINIANA 

ENDOWED  BY 

JOHN  SPRUNT  HILL 

CLASS  OF  1889 


Cp970.78 
L26d 


Defence  of  Fort  Gregg.  19 

As  evening  came  on,  questioning  of  the  officers  was  in  order,  and 
for  an  hour  it  would  be,  " Captain,  when  are  we  going  into  camp?" 

"I  say,  lieutenant!  are  we  going  to or  to  blank?"    "Seen 

anything  of  our  wagon?"  "How  long  are  we  to  stay  here?" — 
"Where's  the  spring?"  Sometimes  these  questions  were  meant 
simply  to  tease,  but  generally  they  betrayed  anxiety  of  some  sort, 
and  a  close  observer  would  easily  detect  the  seriousness  of  the  man 
who  asked  after  "  our  wagon,"  because  he  spoke  feelingly  as  one 
who  wanted  his  supper  and  was  in  doubt  as  to  whether  or  not  he 
would  get  it. 

Many  a  poor  fellow  dropped  in  the  road  and  breathed  his  last  in 
the  corner  of  a  fence,  with  no  one  to  hear  his  last  fond  mention  of 
his  loved  ones.  And  many  whose  ambition  it  was  to  share  every 
danger  and  discomfort  with  their  comrades,  overcome  by  the  heat 
or  worn  out  with  disease,  were  compelled  to  leave  the  ranks,  and 
while  friend  and  brother  marched  to  battle,  drag  their  weak  and 
staggering  frames  to  the  rear,  perhaps  to  die,  pitiably  alone,  in 
some  hospital,  and  be  buried  as  one  more  "Unknown." 

An  accomplished  straggler  could  assume  more  misery,  look  more 
horribly  emaciated,  tell  more  dismal  stories  of  distress,  eat  more 
and  march  further  (to  the  rear),  than  any  ten  ordinary  men. 
Most  stragglers  were  real  sufferers,  but  many  of  them  were  inge- 
nious liars,  energetic  foragers,  plunder  hunters  and  gormandizers. 
Thousands  who  kept  their  place  in  ranks  to  the  very  end  were 
equally  as  tired,  as  sick,  as  hungry  and  as  hopeless  as  these  scamps, 
but  too  proud  to  tell  it  or  use  it  as  a  means  of  escape  from  hard- 
ship.   

Defence  of  Fort  Gregg. 

[The  heroic  defence  of  Fort  Gregg  showed  the  spirit  of  the  remnant  of  our 
grand  old  army,  and  illumines  the  sad  page  of  its  history  which  tells  of  the 
closing  scenes  of  the  "  Defence  of  Petersburg.''''  We  have  never  seen  in 
print  any  official  account  of  the  brilliant  affair,  and  are  glad  to  be  able  to 
present  the  following  from  the  original  MS.  report  kindly  furnished  us  by 
General  James  H.  Lane.] 

BRIGADIER-GENERAL  LANE'S  OFFICIAL  REPORT. 

Appomattox  Courthouse,  April  10, 1865. 
Major: 

I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  on  the  night  of  the  1st  of 
April,  four  regiments  of  my  brigade,  with  intervals  between  the 
men  varying  from  six  to  ten  paces,  were  stretched  along  the  works 


^ 
3 


20  Southern  Historical  Society  Papers. 

between  Battery  Gregg  and  Hatcher's  Kun,  in  the  following  order 
from  right  to  left:  Twenty-eighth,  Thirty-seventh,  Eighteenth, 
Thirty-third — the  right  of  the  Twenty-eighth  resting  near  the  brown 
house  in  front  of  General  McRae's  winterquarters,  and  the  left  of 
the  Thirty-third  on  the  branch  near  Mrs.  Banks'. 

The  enemy  commenced  shelling  my  line  from  several  batteries 
about  nine  o'clock  that  night,  and  the  picket  lines  in  my  front 
opened  fire  at  a  quarter  to  two  o'clock  the  following  morning.  The 
skirmishers  from  McGowan's  brigade,  who  covered  the  works  held 
by  my  command,  were  driven  in  at  a  quarter  to  five  o'clock,  and 
my  line  was  pierced  by  the  enemy  in  strong  force  at  the  ravine  in 
front  of  the  right  of  the  Thirty-seventh  near  General  McGowan's 
headquarters.  The  Twenty-eighth,  enfiladed  on  the  left  by  this 
force,  and  on  the  right  by  the  force  that  had  previously  broken  the 
troops  to  our  right,  was  forced  to  fall  back  to  the  Plank  road.  The 
enemy  on  its  left  took  possession  of  this  road  and  forced  it  to  fall 
still  further  back  to  the  Cox  road,  where  it  skirmished  with  the 
enemy  and  supported  a  battery  of  artillery,  by  order  of  Brigadier- 
General  Pendleton.  The  other  regiments  fought  the  enemy  between 
McGowan's  winterquarters  and  those  occupied  by  my  brigade,  and 
were  driven  back.  They  then  made  a  stand  in  the  winterquarters 
of  the  right  regiment  of  my  command,  but  were  again  broken,  a 
part  retreating  along  the  works  to  the  left,  and  the  remainder  going 
to  the  rear.  These  last,  under  Colonel  Cowan,  made  a  stand  on 
the  hill  to  the  right  of  Mrs.  Banks',  but  were  forced  back  to  the 
Plank  road,  along  which  they  skirmished  for  some  time,  and  then 
fell  back  to  the  Cox  road,  where  they  supported  a  battery  of 
artillery,  by  order  of  Lieutenant-General  Longstreet.  That  portion 
of  my  command  which  retreated  along  the  works  to  the  left,  made 
two  more  unsuccessful  attempts  to  resist  the  enemy,  the  last  stand 
being  made  in  the  Church  road  leading  to  the  Jones  House.  It 
then  fell  back  to  Battery  Gregg  and  the  battery  to  its  left;  but 
under  Major  Wooten,  and  assisted  by  a  part  of  Thomas'  brigade, 
it  soon  after  charged  the  enemy,  by  order  of  Major-General  Wilcox, 
and  cleared  the  works  as  far  as  the  branch  on  which  the  left  of  the 
Thirty-third  rested  the  night  previous.  Here  we  were  rejoined  by 
Colonel  Cowan,  and  we  deployed  as  skirmishers  to  the  left  of  the 
Church  road  and  perpendicular  to" the  works,  but  did  not  hold  this 
position  long,  as  we  were  attacked  by  a  strong  line  of  skirmishers, 
supported  by  two  strong  lines  of  battle.    A  part  of  us  retreated  to 


Defence  of  Fort  Gregg.  21 

Battery  Gregg,  and  the  rest  to  the  new  line  of  works  near  the 
"  Dam."  Battery  Gregg  was  subsequently  attacked  by  an  immense 
force,  and  fell  after  the  most  gallant  and  desperate  defence.  Our 
men  bayonetted  many  of  the  enemy  as  they  mounted  the  parapet. 
After  the  fall  of  this  battery,  the  rest  of  my  command  along  the 
new  line  was  attacked  in  front  and  flank  and  driven  back  to  the 
old  line  of  works  running  northwest  from  Battery  45,  where  it 
remained  until  the  evacuation  of  Petersburg.  We  were  here  re- 
joined by  the  Twenty-eighth,  under  Captain  Linebarger. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  3d,  we  crossed  the  Appomattox  at 
Goode's  bridge,  bivouaced  at  Amelia  Courthouse  on  the  4th,  and 
on  the  5th  formed  line  of  battle  between  Amelia  Courthouse  and 
Jetersville,  where  our  sharpshooters,  under  Major  Wooten,  became 
engaged.  Next  day,  while  resting  in  Farmville,  we  were  ordered 
back  to  a  fortified  hill  to  support  our  cavalry,  which  was  hard 
pressed,  but  before  reaching  the  hill  the, order  was  countermanded. 
We  moved  rapidly  through  Farmville,  and  sustained  some  loss 
from  the  artillery  fire  while  crossing  the  river  near  that  place. 
That  afternoon  we  formed  line  of  battle,  facing  to  the  rear,  between 
one  and  two  miles  from  Farmville,  and  my  sharpshooters  were 
attacked  by  the  enemy.  During  the  night  we  resumed  our  march, 
and  on  the  9th,  while  forming  line  of  battle,  we  were  ordered  back 
and  directed  to  stack  our  arms,  as  the  Army  o,f  Northern  Virginia 
had  been  surrendered. 

My  officers  and  men  behaved  well  throughout  this  trying  cam- 
paign, and  superiority  of  numbers  alone  enabled  the  enemy  to 
drive  us  from  the  works  near  Petersburg.  Colonel  Cowan,  though 
indisposed,  was  constantly  with  his  command,  and  displayed  his 
usual  gallantry,  while  Major  Wooten  nobly  sustained  his  enviable 
reputation  as  an  officer. 

We  have  to  mourn  the  loss  of  Captains  Nicholson,  Faine, 
McAulay  and  Long,  and  other  gallant  officers. 

Captain  E.  J.  Hale,  Jr.,  A.  A.  G.,  and  First  Lieutenant  E.  B. 
Meade,  A.  D.  C,  were  constantly  at  their  posts,  displaying  great 
bravery  and  giving  additional  evidence  of  their  efficiency  as  staff 
officers. 

I  am  unable  to  give  our  exact  loss  at  Petersburg.  I  surrendered 
at  this  point  fifty-six  (56)  officers  and  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  (484)  men — many  of  the  latter  being  detailed,  non-arms-bear- 
ing men,  who  were  sent  back  to  be  surrendered  with  their  brigade. 


22  Southern  Historical  Society  Papers. 

The  Seventh,  the  other  regiment  of  my  command,  is  absent  in 
North  Carolina  on  detached  service. 

I  am,  Major,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

James  H.  Lane, 

Brigadier-  General. 
Major  Joseph  A.  Engelhard, 

A.  A.  General. 


Extract  from  a  letter  written  by  General  Lane  to  General'  Wikox. 

Concord,  N.  0.,  May  20th,  1867. 
Dear  General  : 

I  received  a  letter  from  Major  Engelhard  not  long  since,  in 

which  he  says  you  wish  me  to  furnish  you,  as  far  as  I  can,  the 

names  of  officers  killed  and  wounded  in  my  brigade,  and  the 

number  of  men  killed  and  wounded  in  the  different  battles  from 

the  Wilderness  to  the  surrender,  as  General  Lee  had  desired  a 

report  of  you. 

I  beg  also  to  call  your  special  attention  to  the  defence  of  Fort 
Gregg,  as  you  may  not  be  aware  that  Harris'  brigade  has  been  given 
in  print  all  the  credit  of  that  gallant  affair.  Relative  to  that,  I  send 
you  a  letter  recently  received  from  Lieutenant  George  H.  Snow,  of 
the  Thirty-third  North  Carolina  regiment,  who  commanded  tlje 
detachment  from  my  brigade  which  was  in  the  fort  at  the  time  of 
its  fall.  Harris'  brigade  formed  on  our  right  after  Thomas  and  I 
had  cleared  the  works  of  the  enemy  as  far  as  Mrs.  Banks',  and 
when  we  were  driven  back  that  brigade  retired  to  the  fort  above 
Fort  Gregg — I  think  it  was  called  Fort  Anderson — while  mine  re- 
tired along  the  new  line  of  works  to  the  "  Dam,"  a  sufficient  number, 
however,  being  sent  to  Fort  Gregg  (with  the  supernumeraries  of 
Walker's  artillery  armed  as  infantry)  to  man  the  entire  work.  You 
may  perhaps  recollect  my  calling  your  attention  to  this,  and  that 
after  looking  into  the  fort,  you  approved  of  my  turning  back  other 
men  of  my  command,  though  you  had  previously  ordered  my 
whole  brigade  into  that  fort.  There  were,  I  think,  eight  or  nine 
commissioned  officers  of  my  command  in  the  same  fort. 

The  honor  of  the  gallant  defence  of  Fort  Gregg  is  due  to  my 
brigade,  Chew's  battery  and  Walker's  supernumerary  artillerists, 
armed  as  infantry,  and  not  to  Harris'  brigade,  which  abandoned 
Fort  Anderson  and  retired  to  the  old  or  inner  line  of  works  before 
Fort  Gregg  was  attacked  in  force.    Unsupported,  I  saw  our  noble 


Defence  of  Fort  Gregg.  23 

fellows  repulse  three  assaults  in  force  in  front  and  one  from  the 
rear;  and  the  enemy  did  not  succeed  in  mounting  the  work  until 
the  fire  of  the  fort  had  ceased,  which,  as  Lieutenant  Snow  says, 
was  due  to  want  of  ammunition.  The  enemy,  after  crowding  the 
parapet,  amid  the  wildest  cheering  and  waiving  of  numerous  flags, 
fired  down  upon  our  men  inside  of  the  works. 

Chew's  battery  behaved  splendidly ;  even  before  I  left  the  work» 
two  or  three  men  were  shot  down  in  rapid  succession  while  at- 
tempting to  discharge  a  single  gun.  My  men  were  on  the  right  and 
centre,  the  supernumerary  artillerists  on  the  left,  and  Chew's  battery 
was  in  the  centre,  so  as  to  give  the  pieces  the  widest  possible  range 

of  fire. 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

James  H.  Lane. 


Letter  from  Lieutenant  George  H.  Snow,  Thirty-third  North  Carolina 

Regiment. 

Raleigh,  May  13th,  1867. 
General  James  H.  Lane  : 

Dear  sir — Your  letter  I  received  some  time  ago,  and  would 
have  answered  it  earlier,  but  was  prevented  by  unforseen  circum- 
stances. 

You  desire  to  know  the  details  of  the  fight  at  Fort  Gregg.  I 
think  it  due  to  the  men  of  that  noble  old  brigade,  which  stood  the 
contest  from  Newberne  to  the  surrender,  that  some  true  lover  of 
patriotism  and  valor  should  espouse  their  cause,  and  place  them 
second  to  none  among  the  true  defenders  of  that  memorable  fort. 
History  does  not  reveal  names  more  deserving  of  honor  and  praise 
than  those  of  that  detachment  which  I  had  the  honor  to  command, 
and  my  mind  painfully  reverts  to  the  agonizing  adieu  of  each  hero 
as  he  closed  his  eyes  in  death. 

I  cannot  speak  positively  when  I  attempt  to  give  the  number  of 
men  belonging  to  your  brigade  or  the  miscellaneous  commands  in 
the  fort,  but  I  speak  confidently  when  I  say  that  at  least  three- 
fourths  were  of  your  brigade.  I  think  I  had  between  seventy-five 
and  eighty  men  all  told,  with  Lieutenants  Craige  and  Howard,  and 
two  or  three  other  officers  whose  names  I  do  not  recollect.  I  saw 
only  two  officers  of  Harris'  brigade  in  the  fort  fighting  bravely,  but 
the  number  of  their  command  I  cannot  exactly  give,  but  think 
that  ten  will  cover  the  whole.  The  artillerists  fought  bravely,  re- 
sorting to  small  arms  after  being  unable  to  use  their  cannon,  and 


24  Southern  Historical  Society  Papers. 

appeared  to  me  as  if  commanding  themselves :  they  were  of  Cap- 
tain Chew's  battery.  Our  stubborn  resistance  is  due  to  your  fore- 
sight in  supplying  the  fort  with  cartridges. 

,  The  enemy  charged  us  three  times,  and  after  having  expended 
all  our  ammunition,  rocks  were  used  successfully  for  over  half  an 
hour  in  resisting  their  repeated  attempts  to  rush  over  us.  While 
I  would  most  willingly  accord  to  each  man  within  the  fort  his  just 
.  and.  proper  credit,  yet  I  do  not  think  that  Harris'  brigade  should  be 
mentioned  in  connection  with  its  defence.  I  cannot  point  out  a  single 
instance  where  one  of  Lane's  brigade  failed  to  perform  his  duty  on 
that  day.  The  position  we  occupied  (the  right  wing  and  centre) 
were  the  only  parts  attacked  without  one  moment's  interval  of 
peace,  and  we  repulsed  with  great  loss  an  attack  in  the  rear  which 
would  have  otherwise  necessitated  our  surrender.  The  credit  of 
that  bloody  fight  is  due  to  your  men,  and  I  sincerely  hope  you  may 
correct  so  foul  a  statement  as  that  which  appears  as  history. 
With  my  best  wishes  for  your  welfare  and  success, 

I  remain  as  ever,  yours  most  sincerely, 

George  H.  Snow. 


Letter  from  Lieutenant  F.  B.  Oraige,  Thirty-third  North  Carolina 

Regiment. 

"WlLLIAMSPORT,  Tennessee,  June  4th,  1867. 
General  James  H.  Lane  : 

Dear  sir — Yours  of  the  27th  ultimo  was  remailed  to  me  at 
Salisbury,  and  received  to-day.  I  am  happy  to  know  that  you 
intend  making  an  effort  to  give  our  old  brigade  some  of  the  honor 
due  her,  which  has  more  than  once  been  given  others  to  whom  it 
does  not  belong. 

I  will  give  you  as  correct  an  account  of  the  defence  of  Fort  Gregg 
as  my  recollection  will  permit.  There  were  but  two  six-pound 
guns  in  the  fort,  conducted  by  a  few  Marylanders  or  Virginians* 
under  command  of  Captain  Chew,  and  a  few  Louisianians  from  the 
Washington  artillery,  under  Lieutenant  Mackelroy.  The  whole 
number  of  artillerists  did  not  exceed  twenty-five.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Duncan  and  his  adjutant,  of  Harris'  brigade,  both  of  whom 
were  wounded  in  the  head  and  acted  with  conspicuous  gallantry, 
had  with  them  not  more  than  twenty  men.  The  remainder  of  the 
troops  in  the  fort  belonged  to  your  brigade,  numbering  between 
one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-five.    The 


Defence  of  Fort  Gregg.  25 

only  other  officer  present  of  our  brigade,  whose  name  you  did  not 
mention  in  your  letter,  was  Lieutenant  Rigler,  of  the  Thirty-seventh 
regiment.  I  do  not  know  whether  there  were  any  of  General 
Thomas'  command  with  us  or  not.  Captain  Norwood,  of  Thomas' 
staff,  was  captured  the  same  morningthat  I  was,  but  I  don't  remember 
whether  on  the  skirmish  line  or  in  the  fort.  We  repulsed  the 
enemy  three  times  in  front  and  once  from  the  rear.  After  our 
ammuniton  was  exhausted,  the  men  used  their  bayonets  and 
clubbed  their  guns  until  the  whole  wall  was  covered  with  blue- 
coats,  who  continued  a  heavy  fire  upon  us  for  several  moments  after 
they  had  entered. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

F.  B.  Craige. 


Letter  from  Lieutenant  A.  B.  Howard,  Thirty-third  North  Carolina 

Regiment. 

Statesville,  N.  C,  June  3d,  1867. 
General  Lane  : 

Dear  sir — Yours  of  the  27th  instant  is  at  hand,  and  contents 
duly  noticed.  I  take  pleasure  in  giving  you  all  the  information  I 
can  in  reference  to  the  gallant  defence  of  Fort  Gregg.  I  am  fully 
confident  that  three-fourths  of  the  men  in  the  fort,  if  not  more, 
were  from  your  brigade. 

I  am  glad,  indeed,  to  know  that  you  will  give  a  full  and  true  state- 
ment of  the  affair  to  General  Lee,  and  that  the  gallant  men  of  the  Old 
North  State,  and  especially  those  of  Lane's  brigade,  may  have  all  the 
honor  and  credit  that  they  so  nobly  won. 

I  fully  concur  with  Lieutenant  Snow  in  his  statement  concerning 
the  number  of  men  from  Harris'  brigade.  I  am  pretty  certain  that 
there  was  only  one  officer  instead  of  two  from  that  brigade :  his 
name  was  Duncan.  He  said  he  was  lieutenant-colonel,  but  there 
were  no  stars  or  bars  about  him  to  designate  his  rank. 

The  three  pieces  of  artillery  belonged  to  Chew's  battery.  He 
was  captured  and  taken  with  us  to  Johnson's  island.  I  am  sorry 
that  I  am  not  able  to  recall  the  names  of  the  officers  from  your 
command.  I  don't  remember  the  names  of  any  except  those 
mentioned  by  yourself.  I  know  there  were  others  besides  from  our 
brigade  in  the  Thirty-seventh  regiment,  &c,  but  as  I  was  not  well 
acquainted  with  them,  their  names  have  escaped  my  recollection. 

We  kept  the  enemy  back  for  some  time  after  our  ammunition 


26  Southern  Historical  Society  Papers. 

was  exhausted  with  bayonets  and  brickbats.  "lis  true,  that  when 
they  rushed  into  the  fort  upon  us,  they  were  yelling,  cursing  and 
shooting  with  all  the  frenzy  and  rage  of  a  hode  of  merciless  bar- 
barians. 

I  could  give  you  a  full  account  of  the  whole  engagement  from 
beginning  to  end,  but  I  suppose  you  have  all  the  particulars  from 
Captain  Hale  and  Lieutenant  Snow. 

I  remain  yours,  very  truly,  &c, 

vA.  B.  Howard. 


Letter  from  Lieutenant  D.  M.  Rigler,  Thirty-seventh  North  Carolina 

Regiment. 

Charlotte,  N".  C,  June  17th,  1867. 
General  James  H.  Lane  : 

Dear  sir — Yours  of  the  14th  instant  is  received,  and  I  hasten 
to  reply.  You  wish  me  to  give  all  the  information  I  can  in  regard 
to  the  defence  of  Fort  Gregg.  As  it  has  been  so  long  since  it 
occurred,  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  give  all  the  particulars,  but  as 
far  as  I  can  I  will. 

After  the  enemy  drove  us  from  the  works,  a  portion  of  the  bri- 
gade fell  back  in  rear  of  General  Mahone's  quarters,  and  was  there 
until  you  ordered  us  to  the  fort.  'Twas  near  Mahone's  quarters 
that  General  A.  P.  Hill  was  killed.  When  we  came  to  the  fort  you 
were  there  with  .some  of  the  brigade.  You  then  ordered  all  of  us 
to  charge  the  enemy.  We  held  the  Jones  road  about  fifteen  min- 
utes. Harris'  Mississippi  brigade  came  up;  the  enemy  fired  on 
them,  and  they  retreated.  Captain  Hale  then  ordered  us  up  to  the 
fort.  General  Wilcox  and  some  of  his  staff  were  there:  he  re- 
mained there  until  they  opened  on  the  fort  with  artillery.  Captain 
Hale  called  myself,  Snow  and  Craige  out  in  the  rear  of  the  fort, 
and  asked  how  many  men  we  had  of  the  brigade  and  how  much 
ammunition.  He  then  told  us  to  send  some  reliable  man  after 
ammunition.  By  this  time  the  Yanks  had  got  the  range  of  the 
fort,  and  were  doing  some  damage. 

Captain  Hale  then  asked  who  was  the  senior  officer,  and  as  Snow 
was,  he  put  him  in  command  and  told  him  to  hold  the  fort.  We 
formed  the  men  around,  and  had  about  fifty  or  sixty.  Harris'  men 
came  in  with  a  lieutenant-colonel,  and  about  fifteen  men  more  of 
our  brigade  came  in,  and  made  in  all  about  seventy-five  of  our 
brigade. 


Defence  of  Fort  Gregg.  27 

About  ten  o'clock  the  enemy  commenced  charging  with  four  or 
five  lines.  We  did  not  fire  until  they  were  within  forty  yards,  and 
then  we  gave  them  one  volley;  they  wavered,  and  the  first  line 
gave  way;  the  second  came  forward,  and  came  within  thirty  yards 
of  the  fort.  We  yelled  and  fired — they  stood  a  few  seconds  and 
then  broke.  The  third  retreated  also,  but  the  fourth  and  fifth  came 
to  the  ditch  around  the  fort.  While  this  fighting  was  in  the  front, 
one  line  came  in  the  rear  and  almost  got  inside  the  fort  through 
the  door.  About  twenty  men  charged  them,  and  drove  them  back. 
About  eleven  o'clock  they  scaled  the  walls  of  the  fort,  and  for  sev- 
eral minutes  we  had  a  hand  to  hand  fight.  We  used  the  bayonet, 
and  killed  almo&t  all  of  them  that  came  on  the  top. 

About  half-past  eleven  they  attempted  to  scale  the  walls  again. 
We  met  them  with  the  bayonet,  and  for  several  minutes  it  was  the 
most  desperate  struggle  I  ever  witnessed;  but  it  did  not  last  long. 
Soon  they  were  all  killed  or  knocked  back,  and  then  a  deafening 
shout  arose  from  our  boys.  Near  twelve,  they  tried  to  force  their 
way  through  the  door  in  rear  of  the  fort,  and  succeeded  in  getting 
almost  in,  but  we  met  them  with  the  bayonet  and  drove  them  back. 
By  this  time  the  ammunition  was  almost  out,  and  our  men  threw 
bats  and  rocks  at  them  in  the  ditch.  No  ammunition  could  we 
get,  and  after  a  short  struggle,  they  took  the  fort,  and  some  few  did 
fire  on  us  after  they  got  possession,  but  their  officers  tried  to  stop 
them. 

I  think  there  were  twenty-five  of  Harris'  Mississippi  brigade, 
with  a  lieutenant-colonel ;  do  not  think  there  were  any  more.  The 
lieutenant-colonel  was  wounded. 

There  were  only  two  pieces  of  artillery,  and  I  think  they  were 
six-pound  rifle  pieces,  and  they  did  not  have  more  than  twenty-five 
rounds  of  ammunition.  Most  of  the  men  were  wounded  and  killed 
while  the  enemy  were  charging.  They  fought  bravely.  I  do  not 
know  whose  battery  it  was. 

There  were  about  seventy-five  or  eighty  men  of  our  brigade,  and 
five  officers,  namely :  Lieutenants  Snow,  Craige  and  Howard,  of  the 
Thirty-third  North  Carolina  regiment;  Orman  and  myself,  of  the 
Thirty-seventh  regiment.  There  were  about  twenty  of  Thomas' 
Georgia  brigade,  with  Thomas'  adjutant-general,  or  a  captain  acting 
as  such,  and  two  lieutenants. 

I  think  there  were  in  the  fort,  including  all,  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty,  or  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  men — about  seventy- 
five  or  eighty  of  our  brigade,  about  twenty-five  of  Harris'  and  about 


28  Southern  Historical  Society  Papers. 

twenty  of  Thomas',  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  of  the  artillery.     Out  of 
that  number  at  least  one-half  were  killed  and  wounded. 

The  adjutant-general  or  captain  of  Thomas'  brigade  was  near 
me  when  the  fighting  commenced,  and  he  said  it  was  ten  o'clock, 
and  that  it  was  twelve  when  they  got  the  fort. 

The  above,  general,  I  think  is  nearly  correct.  It  is  certain  our 
brigade  did  the  most  of  the  fighting,  and  I  think  they  deserve  the 
praise.     I  am  glad  that  you  are  going  to  defend  it. 

Wishing  you  success,  I  am  very  respectfully,  yours, 

D.  M.  RlGLER. 


Extract  from  a  letter  from  Colonel  Cowan,  of  Thirty-third  North  Carolina 

Regiment. 

Statesville,  N.  C,  June  22, 1876. 
Dear  General  : 

*  *  *  *  Lieutenant  Howard  has  doubtless  given 
you  all  the  particulars  more  fully  than  I  can,  as  most  of  my  in- 
formation was  obtained  from  him. 

Color  Bearer  James  Atkinson  made  his  escape  from  Fort  Gregg 
after  the  enemy  had  entered  it,  and  brought  the  colors  away  safely. 

With  much  respect,  your  friend, 

R.  V.  Cowan. 

I  was  an  eye  witness  to  the  above.  Atkinson  ran  from  the  fort 
when  the  enemy  mounted  the  parapet,  and  with  the  colors  of  the 
Thirty-third  North  Carolina  regiment  flying,  he  made  his  escape 
without  being  struck,  though  he  was  a  marked  target  for  the  enemy. 
His  exploit  was  greeted  with  cheers  upon  cheers  from  the  men  in 
the  main  line  of  works. 

James  H.  Lane. 


Address  on  the  Character  of  General  E.  E.  Lee, 

Deltvebed  in  Richmond  on  Wednesday,  January  19th,  1876,  the  Anniversaby  of  Genebal 
Lee's  Birth,  by  Captain  John  Hampden  Chamberlayne. 

[We  were  urged  at  the  time  of  its  delivery  by  a  number  of  gentlemen  who 
heard  it  to  publish  this  admirable  address,  and  have  always  purposed  doing 
so.  It  may  be  well,  however,  that  is  has  been  postponed,  so  as  to  appear  on 
the  eve  of  another  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  uur  great  chieftain.] 

Fellow  Citizens  : 

I  shall  not  obtrude  upon  you  apologies  or  explanations,  as 
if  I  had  the  orator's  established  fame  to  lose,  or  looked  that  future 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00032769843 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


TYSON'S 
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319  Caisar  Much  BIdgJ 
SI  EMPIRE  ST. 

PROVIDENCE,  R,  1. 


